Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1887-02-11
WHISKY DID 1T.
A Railway Horror Due to the Rum Devil
A Powerful Temperance Lecture.
From the Toledo Blade1

A Railway Horror Due to the Rum Devil
A Powerful Temperance Lecture.
From the Toledo Blade
The recent fearful railway collision at
Republic, Ohio, was undoubtedly due to
the disobedience of orders by the conductor
and engineer of the freight train. The
more the matter is sifted, however, the
more clear becomes the fact that rum was
at the bottom of it. The testimony of va.
| rious persons is to the effect that the engi-
neer, at least, had been drinking. One
man declares that he took four drinks"
| with the engineer at Tiffin. Another
| testified that he "saw the engineer take two
drinks of whisky at Bloomdale and two at
Fostoria. And the engineer is reported to
have said he would run that train to suit
himself, with the inference that he in
sisted on pulling out of the Scipio switch
and endeavoring to make Republic before
the Inflated express reached that point.
| These few bits Of evidence are enough to
make it easy to fill out the picture, to any
one who is familiar with the ideas and
habits of drinking men. The night was
very cold; cutting wind, snow-laden, was
blowing; and man with the common. but
| erroneous, opinion that rum would "keep
out the cold" would make that al excuse
for taking glass. With convivial friends
about him. the engineer did not stop ct one
glass, but took another and yet another It
certainly is proved that he took enough to
becloud the brain, paralyze the reasoning
| faculties, and turn a man into an unreason-
ing. silly brute-to make him stubborn"
as the conductor is quoted as saying.
The fact is established, apparently, that
the train dispatcher order to the conductor
and engineer of the freight was to "meet
| No. (the express) at Scipio siding" This
| was brief, but explicit. Under it there was
no room for misconstruction. Unless that
order was replaced by a second the freight
| train was expected to remain at Scipio for
hours, if need be, until the express had
| passed. But the engineer had enough rum
coursing through his veins to make him
| stubborn. 1t was tiresome waiting at
| the little roadside station in the night and
storm. He was anxious to get to the end
| OF his run. Much as this was desired per-
| sonally, had he been in his sober senses he
would have seen the grave danger of at
tempting to reach the next station, Repub-
lie. Had not the rum devil been in tn g
ascendant he would have considered that
his engine could not be expected to make
steam freely on that bitter cold night: he
would have bethought himself that his fire
man was an inexperienced man; he would
have thought of the heavy grade up which
his engine must pull the train. of the lev
track, and that all the atmospheric inhu-
| ences were against his making good time.
But Rum had changed him int a stub
born, unreasoning creature. The conductor
may or may not have haltingly agreed to the
proposition to go on to Republic; very,
probably he did-and he may have even
given positive order to this effect. The
facts rs to this IRE not yet brought OUT
At any rate, the engineer was under tho
conductors orders, and if the latter al
lowed the "stubbornness," born Of Rum, of
the engineer to influence him to disobey
orders, he was aweakling who had no bust
ness in charge of train. And if the con
ductor gave the order to so ahead, the en-
glneer. had he been sober, would not have
obeyed, IN all human probability. In
either case, Hum was at the bottom of it.
AT any rate, the rum devil had his way,
and the freight pulled out upon the main
line, and started for Republic. All those
things which q sober, clear headed man
might have foreseen came to pass. The
grade was heavy, and progress was slow;
the engine had IN insufficient head Of
steam at starting. the fireman was new 10
his duties land is said also to have been
drinking at Tiffin), the boiler did not make
steam, and a scant three quarters of q mile
short OF Republic the train came to- a
standstlll. The conductor snatched Ian
tern' with the words, "I'll go ahead and
signal No. s." but had gotten but short
distance when the flash Of the headlight of
the doomed train came in sight around the
curve. My God, here she comes !" he
gasped;; and in an instant, with fearful
crash, the flying express met her doom.
lhere is no need here to recount the
particulars OF the awful scene. Over a